Travelling down the Stuart Highway from Three Ways to Adelaide recently, I was impressed by the fact that the rest areas all had toilets – a much-needed facility when you are travelling long distances.

After using the loos at the Erldunda Roadhouse and again just before the border at Kulgera, I was amazed at how far I had to drive into South Australia before I found a rest area with a toilet!

The traffic on this main north/south highway is pretty heavy at times and I tried to imagine the hundreds of drivers heading towards Port Augusta with their legs firmly crossed. Heaven help them if they have to stop suddenly for a kamikaze kangaroo that suddenly appears from the scrub.

Other roads I travelled in South Oz were much better equipped but the northern part of the state seems to be a forgotten black hole as far as facilities are concerned. Could it have anything to do with the fact that very few voters live in that outback area?

Authorities are always deploring the fact that travellers often leave toilet paper – and worse – around and near rest areas. Having no toilets for hundreds of kilometres only exacerbates the problem as very few travellers carry shovels or spades to bury their waste. Plus, the ground is so hard in these places that it’s virtually impossible to dig a hole anyway!

Thank goodness my little motorhome has its own toilet facilities and I don’t have to rely on the whims of road authorities when the need arises for a comfort stop.

YOUR SAY: Have you found there any toilet ‘black holes’ in your travels? Tell us about it here.